2000
#1,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,363
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.81
Uncommon Last name
Bustamante
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Bustamante, meaning "the one who lives near a thicket."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,224 Americans carry the last name Bustamante. That puts it at #1,461 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,590 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bustamante surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,590
Census rank
#1,461
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,741 bearers of the surname Bustamante in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1461st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustamante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bustamante
The surname Bustamante originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish words "buen" meaning "good" and "estante" meaning "station" or "place." The name likely referred to a desirable location or a person who lived in a favorable place.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bustamante can be traced back to the 12th century in the northern Spanish regions of Cantabria and Castile. The name appears in several medieval documents, including the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century manuscript that documented landholdings and nobility in the region.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Bustamante was Rodrigo Pérez de Bustamante, a 13th-century nobleman and military commander from Cantabria who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors. Another early figure was Juan de Bustamante, a 15th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Bustamante family played a significant role in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Diego de Bustamante, born in 1523, was a Spanish conquistador and one of the founders of the city of Santa Fe de Bogotá, now the capital of Colombia. Another prominent figure was Juan de Bustamante y Centeno, a 17th-century Spanish nobleman and governor of the Philippines from 1616 to 1624.
In the 18th century, José María Bustamante, born in 1759, was a Mexican lawyer and politician who served as the interim president of Mexico in 1837. He played a crucial role in the Mexican War of Independence and the establishment of the Mexican Republic.
The name Bustamante has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Bustamante (Cantabria), a municipality in the Cantabrian region, and Bustamante (Asturias), a parish in the Principality of Asturias.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bustamante
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustamante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bustamante bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bustamante surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.9% · 20,867
- White7.0% · 1,668
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 862
- Two or more races0.6% · 141
- Black or African American0.4% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bustamante
Bustamante appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,536
+6,173 bearers (+33.6%)
Per 100,000 8.32
Rank movement Up 340 places
2020
#1,461
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,741
-795 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 7.94
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,794 | 18,363 | 6.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,454 | 24,536 | 8.32 | +6,173 bearers (+33.6%) | Up 340 places |
| 2020 | #1,461 | 23,741 | 7.94 | -795 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 7 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bustamante surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,454 | #1,461 | -0.5% |
| Count | 24,536 | 23,741 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 8.32 | 7.94 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bustamante bearers went from 24,536 to 23,741 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,454 to #1,461.
FAQ
Bustamante surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bustamante?
Name Census estimates that about 27,224 living Americans carry the surname Bustamante. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,590 residents.
How common is Bustamante?
Bustamante ranks #1,461 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,741 people with the surname Bustamante. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,224), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Bustamante.
Has Bustamante become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bustamante went from 24,536 recorded bearers to 23,741. That is a decrease of 795 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,454 to #1,461.
What does the Census say about the background of Bustamante?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustamante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bustamante in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (20,867 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bustamante appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.9%), White (7.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bustamante (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bustamante mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Bustamante, meaning "the one who lives near a thicket." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bustamante (7.94 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Bustamante?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.